


stronger than you

by daneorange (adreamaloud)



Category: Lip Service
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-28
Updated: 2012-05-28
Packaged: 2017-11-06 03:44:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/414341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adreamaloud/pseuds/daneorange
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam, after.</p>
            </blockquote>





	stronger than you

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers thru the Season 2 finale.

When it all comes down to that night, Sam knows as much – push and Lexy’s skin gives too easily, and Sam’s always been wary about things that come easy, now. 

_It’s not her fault,_ Sam thinks, touching Lexy’s face in the half-light, that morning after. But then again, Sam doesn’t believe much in not having things to blame. Crime or not, someone has got to have blood on her hands. _If not hers, then whose?_

*

And so, like every other day after Cat, Sam decides to do what she does best: She runs. She doesn’t wait for the sun for it – just put her shoes on and plug the music in, that’s it. When she opens the door, she closes her eyes against the wind.

_One foot after the other._ These days, she has to keep reminding herself to do things, lest she forget. The streets are still dark, and water puddles sit in some corners, still wet from last night’s rain. 

Sam looks around, watching the streetlights shut down one by one as daylight comes in. _One, two, three, four, breathe._

*

Lexy catches up with her on the hill, and Sam is only minutely surprised. She struggles momentarily, trying to keep her smile in – she hasn’t seen Lexy like this since that ill-advised house visit, and now here she is, hamster-sized lung and all.

“You seemed like one for morning afters,” Lexy tries, handing Sam a bottle of water. Quietly, Sam’s asking herself: _What is this perfectly put-together woman still doing here?_ Outwardly, Sam is shaking her head, reaching out for the proffered water and taking a swig to hide the smile steadily growing on her lips. 

“Yeah, I—“ Sam breathes in, blinking, trying to refocus. Lexy looks at her that way she always has – like she’s waiting patiently for the rest of the sentence, and won’t get disappointed, whatever it holds. Sam understands, the way Lexy wishes to lay her expectations like they were weightless upon Sam’s shoulders, but still – Sam feels them there, hanging like a ghost.

( _Ghost._ Sam remembers something else entirely, and she has to shake her head again, for good measure.)

“Are you all right?” Lexy’s face straightens to one of slight concern. _Just like me,_ Sam thinks, _Never really off duty._

“I meant to say – I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Ah.” Lexy shifts from one leg to the other, wiping at her forehead with a towel. “See, about—“

Last night. Sam feels it coming, and feels compelled to stop it. “Lexy,” she cuts in, shielding her eyes from the sun with a hand. In this light, she is breathtaking, and Sam has to look away. _One day._

“Maybe later,” Lexy shrugs it off, expectedly. “How many rounds are you still going for, anyway?”

Sam laughs, finally; a sound entirely too strange and nearly unfamiliar. She’s forgotten how good this can feel. Lexy stares at her for a moment before laughing herself, her eyes twinkling. _What is this woman still doing here with someone like me?_

“Just one more,” Sam says, a hand on her hip, the other touching Lexy’s arm lightly. There’s a slight surprise that courses through Lexy’s face, but only briefly. “Then maybe one more, if we feel like it later?”

Lexy shrugs, the way she does when she wants to appear like it’s good enough for her, when inside she’s actually insanely happy about it – Sam’s spent enough time toeing lines and edges to know better, and slowly, she is coming to terms with what she actually sees, instead of pushing them back to the proverbial back-burner.

“That is, of course—" Sam appends, suddenly unsure. “If you don’t have to be somewhere else – hospital, or—“

Lexy clears her throat, looking at Sam with that smile. “I’m not going anywhere,” she says, coughing lightly as she fiddles with her water bottle. “I mean – are you?”

This isn’t love--when it all comes down to that, Sam knows as much. But under her palm, Lexy’s skin is warm, and it sure looks like a good day for beginnings. 

_Fuck it then, what’s the rush?_ Sam thinks. “No, not really,” she just says, breathing out.#


End file.
